Striping apparatus



Feb. 16, 1943. c. c. EFIRD ETAL STRIPING APPARATUS Filed May 21, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet 2 C an WILL/Ah? L,. Mans/4m.

attorneys Patented Feb. 16, 1943 OFFICE STRJIING APPARATUS Crayon C.Efird and William L. Marshall, Aibemarle, N. C.

Application May 21, 1941, Serial No. 394,442

3 illaiins.

This invention relates to improvements in painting machines and moreespecially to a wheeled unit employed for striping roads and pavements,thereby dividing the same into marked areas.

Heretofore, it has been difficult to obtain the proper distribution ofmarking material on the striped surfaces on account of the tendency ofthe material to dry in the container orifices. This difiiculty isespecially noticeable when certain types of paint are used. As a result,it has often been necessary to force the marking fluid from thedispensing container under pressure, so that the proper flow could beobtained. There has also been difiiculty in obtaining the desired paintdistribution on account of the improper arrangement of the orifices.

It is an object of this invention to provide a striping machineespecially designed to overcome the above-named obstacles. Specificallythe machine comprises a wheeled paint container having a plurality ofcircularly arranged orifices in its bottom, in combination with aplurality of springpressed pointed plungers normally closing saidorifices, and means for simultaneously lifting all of the plungers whenit is desired to allow the marking material to flow therefrom. A brushis attached to the machine for spreading the dispensed material on thesurfaces to be marked. By employing the circular arrangement of theopenings, a greater amount of marking material will be dispensed nearthe edges of the stripe than in the center, thus causing the borderportions to be more heavily marked. The simultaneously operable springpressed plungers completely penetrate the orifices in the bottom of thecontainer and thus force all of the Wet marking material therefrom whenthe device is not in use.

It is another object of this invention to provide a striping machine ofthe class described having means for adjusting the amount that theplungers may be raised in the respective openings, thereby controllingthe flow of marking material.

It is another object of this invention to pro- Vide a striping machinethat is simple in construction, low in cost, and efficient in operation.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objectswill appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of theimproved striping apparatus for pavements and the like;

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1;

igure 3 is a sectional detail view through a portion of the apparatusand taken along the line 3-3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view 5 through the container,said view being taken along the line 4-4 in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional plan View taken along the lines 5-5 inFigures 1 and 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail view of the lower right hand portion ofFigure 4, showing one of the orifices through which the marking materialflows, in an opened position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral HI broadlydesignates a container for holding a suitable coating material H, suchas paint or the like. The specific container disclosed comprises fourwalls i2, a bottom l4, and a cover It, said cover being secured to theupper portion of the container by any suitable means such as hinges I6.Two opposed walls i2 of the container have secured thereto wheels ll.These wheels are so attached to the container that the bottom portion Mwill be held in parallel spaced relation to a pavement or other surfaceupon which the wheels rest.

The above-mentioned opposed walls l2 also have attached thereto suitablestrap iron members 29 by any suitable means such as bolts or screws 2i.The upper ends of these strap iron members converge and have securedtherebetween, by any suitable means such as nails or screws 22, thelower end of a handle 23, said handle extending upwardly and having theintermediate portion of a cross handle 24 secured to the upper endthereof. The operator usually grasps each end of the cross handle 24with his hands when rolling the container it from place to place duringa marking or striping operation.

Attention is called to the specific construction of the bottom M. It ishere seen that a plurality of frusto-conical orifices 25 are provided,and that these orifices are arranged substantially in a circle. Aplurality of conical plungers 26 are adapted to normally close theorifices 25 when the apparatus is not in operation, the upper end ofeach of said plungers being secured to a suitable plate'2'l which isattached to the lower end of a shaft 28. Shaft 28 has its upper endslidably mounted in a bearing 29, depending from cover l5. It will benoted by referring to Figure 4 that the bearing 29 has a verticallydisposed slot 30 therein, which slot is penetrated by a pin 3|, and thispin has its inner end secured to the shaft 28. The purpose of the pin 3|is to prevent rotative movement of the shaft 28, and the purpose of theslot 35 is to permit a limited amount of vertical movement of the shaft28 and the associated plungers 26 when it is desired to dispense markingfluid from the container.

The upper end of the shaft 28 has a notch 35 cut therein said notchbeing adapted to receive the end of the horizontal leg of a bell crank36. Th bell crank 36 is pivoted intermediate its ends as at 31 in abracket 38, said bracket, in turn, being secured to the upper exteriorportion of the cover I5.

In order to rotate the bell crank 36 about its pivot 31 to causevertical movement of the shaft 28 and plungers 26, one end of a suitableflexible member such as a wire or cord 40, is attached to the verticalleg of bell crank 36, as at 4!. This cord extends upwardly through abore 42 in the handle 23.

By referring to Figure 3 it will be seen how the upper end of the member46 is attached to the plunger operating mechanism. The upper end of themember 40 (Figure 3) is adapted to pass around the periphery of agrooved pulley 45, said pulley being rotatably mounted as at 66, in theupper end of the handle 23. The upper portion of the handle 23 and alsoa portion of the cross handle 24 are slotted as at 41 and 48,respectively, so as to accommodate the pulley 45 and other associatedmechanism. The upper end of the member 45 after passing over the pulley45 is secured as at 49 to one end of a lever 50, and this lever, inturn, is pivotally mounted in the slot 48 as at It is evident that whenthe operator presses the free end of lever 56 into the slot v43, thewire member 40 will be pulled upwardly through the bore 42, and therebyrotate the bell crank 36 a slight amount about its pivot 31. Thisrotation of the bell crank will cause the shaft 28 and the associatedplungers 26 to be raised upwardly in the orifice 25 in the bottom of thecontainer to allow the marking fluid II to flow therefrom.

In order to regulate the distance to which the plungers 26 may be raisedin the orifices 25, a suitable set screw 55 is provided, the lower endof said set screw being disposed directly above the upper end of shaft28. This set screw is threadably mounted in a Z-shaped bracket 56, saidbracket being secured to the cover l5. By manipulating the set screw 55,the amount that the shaft 28 may be raised is regulated.

In order to cause the plungers 26 to be yieldingly held in the orifices25 when the apparatus is not in use, a suitable compression spring 51 isprovided around the intermediate portion of the ,1,

shaft 28 (Figure 4). The upper endof the compression spring 57 normallyabuts the lower end of bearing 29, whereas the lower end of thecompression spring is confined around theshaft28 by means of a washer59and apin 60.

When the parts are in normal position the lower .pointed ends of theconical plungers 26 completely penetrate the orifices 25 under thepressure of spring 51, and thereby force all excess marking fluidtherefrom. As heretoforestated, certain marking materials dry rapidlyand therefore, it is necessary that this material be removed from theorifices to prevent closure when not in use. Also the lower ends oforifices 25 project downwardly a substantial .distancebelow the bottom,so the marking material will flow therefrom in separated streams, If theorifices did not project down below thebottom, the surface tension ofthe fluid would oftencause the marking material to spread laterallyalong the bottom surface of the container and cause adjacent streams tomerge. This would cause an improper distribution of the marking fluid.

As the container is rolled along the surface which is to be marked, theoperator presses the lever 55 to thereby cause the orifices 25 to beopened a predetermined amount, dependent upon the adjustment of the setscrew 55. At this time, a stream of marking fluid will flow through eachorifice 25 onto this surface. On account of the circular arrangement ofthe orifices 25 it is evident that a greater amount of marking materialwill be dispensed near the edges of the stripes than in the center. Thisis very desirable because the outer edges of the stripe should be markedmore distinctly.

After the marking material has been permitted to flow upon the surfaceto be marked, it is then desirable to spread this material by anysuitable means such as a brush 65. The brush 65 is equipped withsuitable bristles 65, the lower ends of which normally contact thesurface upon which the marking fluid has been allowed to fall from theorifices 25. In order to mount this brush 65 for vertical adjustment onthe container ill, a suitable plate 67 has been secured to the rear WallI2 by any suitable means such as screws 68. In the plate 61, avertically disposed slot 69 is provided, and also a companion slot 10 isprovided in the rear outer face of the back wall l2. One face of thebrush 65 is clamped against the outer face of the plate 67 by anysuitable means such as a bolt H, said .bolt having its squared headportion Ha normally disposed in the slot 16 and its squared collarportion lib is disposed in the slot 66. Since the portions Ha and Nb aresquare and since the width of the slots 69 and It! are less than thelongest cross dimensions of the squared portions, the bolt is preventedfrom turning when the nut 14 is tightened to secure the brush 65 inposition. When it is desired to adjust the elevation of the lower endsof the bristles 56, it is only necessary to loosen the nut M and movethe bolt H and the associated brush 65 vertically to the desiredposition,

The lid or cover l5 has a suitable opening 16 which is normally closedby a screw type cover 17. The purpose of this opening is to permitmarking fluid to be poured into the container from time to time as it isused therefrom.

Often it is necessary to gain access to the interior of the container.In such cases, it is only necessary to remove the pin 31 which holds thebell crank 36 in position. Then the free end of the cover l5 may beraised a short distance so as to gain access to the interior of thecontainer. If it is desired to open the container cover the entireamount, it will be further necessary to remove the screw 32 so that theshaft 26 and associated plungers 26 may be disassociated from the lid.The free end of the lid or cover I5 is normally held in closed positionby any suitable means such as a spring latch 19, said latch havinga'hole 86 therein which is adapted to fit over a prejection 8| extendingfrom the upper outer edge of the front wall l2 of the container.

In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferredembodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth inthe appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for painting stripes on pavements comprising a wheeledframe, an upwardly and rearwardly extending handle for guiding andpropelling the frame, a container disposed in said frame, the bottom ofthe container having a plurality of circularly arranged orificestherein, a plate within the container and having a plurality of taperedpins therein for fitting into said orifices to close the same, means fornormally holding the pins in said orifices, means on the handle andconnected to the plate for raising the plate, adjustable means forlimiting upward movement of the plate to regulate the flow of paintthrough the orifices, and a brush on the rear of the frame for spreadingthe paint deposited through the orifices.

2. Apparatus for painting stripes on pavements comprising a wheeledframe, an upwardly and rearwardly extending handle for guiding andpropelling the frame, a container disposed in said frame, the bottom ofthe container having a plurality of orifices therein, a plate within thecontainer and having a plurality of tapered pins therein for fittinginto said orifices to close the same, means for normally holding thepins in said orifices, means on the handle and connected to the platefor raising the plate, adjustable means for limiting upward movement ofthe plate to regulate the flow of paint through the orifices, and abrush on the rear of the frame for spreading the paint deposited throughthe orifices.

3. Apparatus for painting stripes on pavements comprising a wheeledframe, a paint container on the frame and having a plurality of openingsin the bottom thereof, a plate having a plurality of tapered plungersfitting into said orifices, a shaft secured to said plate, a bearing forthe shaft, a spring disposed around the shaft for normally forcing theplate downwardly to close the orifices, means for moving the plateupwardly, adjustable means for limiting the upward movement of theplate, and a brush on the rear of the frame for spreading the paint onthe pavement as the frame moves forwardly.

CRAYON C. EFIRD. WILLIAM L. MARSHALL.

